David Amor – Direct Mail Futurist and Chairman of First Move Direct Marketing will be speaking on Monday 3rd September at a Tri-Livery event at Stationers’ Hall in London.

David will share stories from the coal face such as one business whose databases has shrunk from 9M to 900K records through the “opt-in” process. How clients are responding to GDPR and his predictions on the long term benefit to his business.

New business opportunities are being created from GDPR, that will set the challenges associated with it.

May 25th was a pivotal day for the General Data Protection Regulation. We had endured months, years even, of scare stories about the death of direct marketing, the size of the fines, and seen a whole industry of consultants attempting to lift the confusion and had hundreds of emails from companies we couldn’t remember double, treble, quadruple confirming it was OK to keep sending emails.

Now the dust has settled and organisations are developing a calmer understanding of how they should collect, store and manage people’s personal data, the focus of conversation is moving towards the opportunities which GDPR unlocks – for marketing which will delight people, deliver better customer insight and opportunities for companies to sell more, IT Departments to make the strong business case for exploring cleaner, up to date customer databases and for stepping up cyber security measures.

This Tri-Livery event brings together a varied panel of experts to present their perspective and insight; from client to legal, and data to agency – with a focus on how businesses can benefit from GDPR, rather than its perceived constraints.

Topics covered will include:

Analytics: How GDPR will drive analytics, which in turn drives better marketing campaigns

Print: Using marketing print and its increased output, the advantages of claiming legitimate interest with paper based communications

Messaging: Use of ‘value statements’ rather than an invoice, to promote other products/upgrades

The expert panel are:

Mark Runacus – Non-Executive Chair DMA (UK) Group and Co-Founder of new hybrid creative and media agency Wax/ On: how GDPR has fuelled the renaissance of direct mail.David Amor – Direct Mail Futurist and Chairman of First Move Direct Marketing – Will share stories from the coal face such as one business whose databases has shrunk from 9M to 900K records through the “opt-in” process. How the clients are responding to GDPR and his predictions on the long term benefit to his business.Dai Davis – Lawyer and Chartered Engineer – Do you need to opt in? Does he agree with the DMA viewpoint on paper based communication.Graeme Owen— UK & Ireland Lead, Information Security Risk at Deutsche Bank—14 years’ experience working in nancial services covering IT operations, IT audit and IT risk. How can IT controls assist with GDPR compliance and what exactly is cyber security?

Once the experts have shared their insights, there will be a panel discussion, with challenging questions encouraged!
Tickets are £25 inc VAT and there is a special discount for guests under the age of 30 (tickets will cost just £20 inc VAT).

The event will commence at 6.30pm for 7.00pm with a short drinks reception followed by the discussion. There will be time afterwards to meet and network with fellow attendees over a light buffet and further liquid refreshment.

What’s the first thing you do when you get home from work? Most of us check our post.

The pull is in personalisation. It’s got our name and address on it, so it’s probably important and worth reading.

Do you look forward to getting your emails as much? We’re guessing NO and the statistics support this.

‘Direct mail has a response rate of 30 times that of e-mailand coupled with the availability of large quantities of reliable data and increasingly cost effective personalised digital print, provides a great opportunity to build your business.’

Now that you’re thinking about using direct mail, your first thoughts might be:

“What is the cost of Direct Mail?”

This article will show the costs and the potential return on investment on all direct mail services. So you can make better-informed business decisions and start building meaningful relationships with your existing and new customers.

Postcard Mailing

“57% of respondents said that postcard marketing makes them feel more valued and creates a more authentic relationship.” – Royal Mail

The beauty of postcards is that you can pack a punch for a reasonable price. Imaginative designs can boost your business’ attraction level. For example, you could embed magnets in your postcards so customers can place them in their homes or at work: a daily visual reminder of your brand.

As a low-cost form of direct mail, postcards can yield a high return on investment. That’s because they shine when used for short and compelling messages or offers. It’s a highly effective strategy to grab the recipient’s attention and drive them into action.

You could also send postcards in between catalogue mailings to keep customers keen and drive further sales for a better ROI.

Estimated cost for 5,000 postcards: £1700.00 + vat includes production and postage but excludes data and design (34p each)

Traditional it may be, but the use of words in a simple, well understood, traditionally trusted and accepted format can open doors and help you win new opportunities. Use mailing services to send large volumes of letters in a cost-effective and highly-efficient way.

Nowadays we use the internet to shop for things we want. Which begs us to ask, do people still like receiving catalogues?

Absolutely. They encourage purchases – 63% of people are influenced by a catalogue to purchase. They also drive people to visit your website.

In fact, the number of people who now respond to catalogue mailing has surged by 23% over the past few years. Why?

A mailing house can professionally design your catalogues with a specific audience in mind. Recipients gain a physical, visually engaging and relevant lexicon of your best products, peaking their interest and leaving a “deeper footprint” than digital media.

We’re talking about transactional business mail (invoices, statements, information, newsletters etc.)It’s mailing with the purpose to inform rather than to encourage a financially monitored response.

Business mail builds trust between consumers and business. It’s an intimate and secure way to communicate, as a study led by DMA revealed:

“56% of consumers stated that they found printed marketing to be the most trustworthy of all media channels”

Direct Mail Marketing Lists

Before you source data you need to understand who your existing customers are. This way, you can send your mail to people who are interested in your offerings and more likely to buy from you.

What do they look like? Where do they live? How much do they earn? You need to unearth this and much more to develop a clear picture of your audience.

Once you know what your customers look like, the challenge is to find more just like them. Achieve this by comparing your existing customers against a large database of potential users.

Of course, creating your own lists can take a lot of time. List creation is a professional direct mail service that can be executed quickly and accurately thanks to recent technology.

The data sources available range from large compiled databases through to magazine subscribers and customers of other companies. You receive comprehensive lists to reach new customers and boost your sales.

Cost minimum charges usually apply. Minimum spend: £500.00 + vat. Costs per name range from 25p to under 10p depending on the list volume.

Will Direct Mail Work For You?

At First Move, we always recommend you should be studious and monitor results as you start your testing. With the right process you can learn what works best and how to improve your strategy.

Our book, Direct Mail 101, explains why direct mail in the 21st century is worth the investment and how to deliver predictable and profitable results to grow your business. Plus, gain real examples of the world’s most successful direct mail letters for you to study.

Contact First Move on 01494 539300 and request a copy. We’ll send it to you for FREE with no obligations.

For more information about our innovative mailing services, check out our website or complete the contact form below. We look forward to hearing from you.

We discuss exactly what that means for businesses sending direct mail.

Learn how to remain GDPR compliant so you can advertise through post with confidence.

The Art of Mail Marketing Is Far From Dead

Sending marketing material by post is on the rise. The DMA has reported a 43% increase in customer responses to direct mail.

What’s more, on average, people keep their post for 38 days. To put this in perspective, 51% of emails are deleted within two seconds.

There’s no denying it. Direct mail is a powerful, meaningful and a dependable way to turn customers heads and leave a lasting impression. But is every letter that lands on a person’s doorstep wanted? This is where GDPR comes into play.

GDPR: The Specifics

Replacing the Data Protection Act 1998, GDPR is beneficial for both the business and the customer. It came into effect in May with one definitive aim: to balance the interest of the data controllers and the data subjects.

To ensure businesses can lawfully handle personal data and use it for marketing purposes they have to abide by GDPR rules.

For example, to collect a subject’s email address and send them monthly e-newsletters the recipient must have opted-in. If they didn’t select ‘receive monthly updates’ but get them anyway, the sender is breaking the law and could face fines of up to 4% of their annual turnover.

Opt-ins usually appear as forms: when a customer registers on a site they will choose:

How they want you to store and process their details (send to third-parties for marketing purposes etc)

What type of information they want to receive from the business (updates regarding their purchases etc)

The big question for marketeers and business owners: do you need explicit consent (opt-ins) from the recipient to send them paper marketing?

The answer short answer: no. Here’s the long answer…

Sending Direct Mail on the Grounds of Legitimate Interest

In case you don’t already know, legitimate interest is a term coined by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) that offers greater flexibility for customer data processing.

Businesses that send direct mail can do so on the basis of legitimate interest. They do not need to record consent from the recipient.

What you do need to ensure is this:

That the use of data is valid

Direct mail has a minimal impact on privacy

Is expected by the recipient or they won’t be surprised to receive it

Let’s say a customer purchases a product from you online. Does that signal legitimate interest in your business?

Absolutely. They’ve actively engaged with your products and wouldn’t be shocked to see your catalogue on their doorstep. Additionally, if a customer has previously opted-in to your marketing emails, you can send them direct mail on the basis that they’ve proven their interest.

Legitimate interest has some great benefits for businesses who use Mailing Services to reach their audience. With consent, subscribers can opt-out at any time. With legitimate interest, you aren’t subject to the whim of the customer with greater control and security over who gets your mail.

Taking away the need for obtaining consent means customers aren’t responsible for the use of their data: you are. So it’s your job to show how your interests are balanced with that of the individual.

You gain greater flexibility: this policy is applicable to a plethora of situations. But this ambiguity can lead to risks. With so many possible scenarios balancing interests can become tricky leaving you vulnerable to disagreements.

Abide by the law with our direct mail services and advertise your business with confidence. In today’s GDPR compliant world, there’s never been a better time to invest in Direct Mail to increase your sales.

“Direct mail advertisements give people time to think… With print advertisements, we’re not anticipating the next click.” – Chris Barr, director of marketing for Taradel.

In the digital age, it’s easy to dismiss direct mail…but marketers — ignore it at your peril. Research by the Direct Marketing Association has found that 70% of Americans say ‘snail mail’ is more personal than the internet, and half of US consumers prefer direct mail over email.

Direct mail is clearly an excellent way of connecting with customers, and trends in direct mail design reflect this. Marketers and advertisers are coming up with some highly creative ways of connecting with customers, helping improve brand awareness, and making sales.

When it comes to design language, DM has one of its own. Playful, poignant, and tactile — the best direct mail designs are design masterpieces in their own right.

WWF Earth Hour: Candle Box

Every year WWF marks Earth Hour, a global movement that brings people together to take action on climate change by switching off their lights for one hour.

To encourage large companies and corporations to take part, yellow candles in boxes were sent out to industry leaders and CEOs.

The front of the box was cleverly designed to look like a tall building; when the candle was removed, the lights went out. The campaign was a big success, with corporate support increasing by 260% from the previous year.

Don’t forget about the power of objects — they can help take your DM campaign to the next level. Just don’t opt for something super gimmicky.

BMW: Cold Weather Tyres

Dynamic and interactive mailers are more likely to be opened. BMW took this approach with their campaign for cold weather tyres called ‘Cutting Through Winter.’

Instead of using a straightforward opening, the envelope featured a perforated pull tab that mimics effect of a car driving through snow.

This makes it irresistible to open and very memorable: exactly the playful effect it is trying to achieve.

Smart: Build A Recyclable Helmet

To introduce their new range of environmentally friendly bikes, Smart designed a flat mailer made of recycled cardboard for recipients to assemble into a helmet.

Great direct marketing is about knowing who your audience is and making them feel as though you’ve created something just for them. The recyclable helmet hits all the right notes for Smart customers: it grabs their attention, fits with their worldview, and is environmentally-friendly.

San Jose Blood Bank: Blood Donation

A clever bit of visual thinking can transform a run-of-the-mill direct marketing design into something altogether more effective. The San Jose Blood Bank sent out ads wrapped around newspapers, held in place with a rubber band.

Due to the placement of the band, it looked like a tourniquet, a familiar sight to anyone who has given blood. The result was simple, clever, and very effective when it came to driving the campaign’s message home.

Think about how you can story tell in your Direct Mail designs — something familiar, or even a little bit shocking, is likely to be arresting.

Bamboo Living: Basic Mailer

A good direct mail campaign doesn’t need to break the bank — you can make use of some very small touches to have a big impact.

Bamboo Living Homes keep their direct mail campaigns simple and elegant by using custom designed envelopes that are printed with non-metallic white foil.

The company use this ink-free method to protect the environment, and give their mailers a more ‘natural’, organic look.

Adopting a similar direct mail strategy to Bamboo Living Home can help you achieve your goals by creating an initial customer base from the people in your local area.

MDVIP: Harsh Conditions

Sometimes the oldest tricks in the book are the best — such as sending out a free gift as part of your direct mail campaign.

MDVIP, a national network of primary care doctors who focus on delivering personalized medicine, made use of this old trick with a campaign that sought to capture attention by offering recipients something they could keep.

They used a desert-themed direct mail that included a miniature cactus in an effort to recruit doctors.

If you’re looking to build up your customer base, free gifts are a great way of building a deeper connection with the people you’re seeking to sell your business to. But it’s vital to make sure you choose something that will survive the journey intact and that ties in with your ad messaging. Something that’s just ‘tacked on’ won’t be effective.

NFL: The Trojan Ball

An element of surprise is a great way to get people engaged with your direct mail campaign.

To reach Hispanic media and attract new advertisers, the NFL set out to break the stereotype that Hispanic people are only interested in soccer. On the outside, the box looks like it contains a soccer ball, and it’s printed with the message: “inside is the ball 28.5 million Hispanics truly identify with”.

Once opened, the box turns out to contain an American football printed with statistics that underline how large the Hispanic audience for the sport actually is, such as: “73% of Hispanics are NFL fans”, and “The Super Bowl was seen by 2 million more Hispanics than the World Cup final in Germany”.

Though some of the above direct mail examples might be financially beyond the reach of a small business, they demonstrate the real impact direct mail design can have. It’s all about thinking outside the box (literally), and testing out new formats and Direct Mail design ideas. Think about fun ways that you can grab people’s attention without resorting to gimmicks.

Victoria Greene is a branding specialist, marketing consultant, and freelance writer. On her blog, VictoriaEcommerce, you’ll find articles covering a range of topics in the world of marketing. She is passionate about using her experience to help brands improve their marketing reach.Twitter:@vickyecommerce

First Move direct marketing provide direct mail services to companies who are looking to engage with their customers to improve customer retention and in return increase their profits. Our direct mail design team are on hand to give your campaigns the wow factor.

We also work with US and European companies helping them to reach the UK market through effective direct mail campaigns.

Whether you want to target homeowners or businesses, we’ve got the expertise, technology and experience to ensure your campaigns are targeted, personalised and achieve a high ROI.

First Move direct marketing has appointed Rachel Smith as Managing Director, effective 1 January 2018.

David Amor, has led First Move as Managing Director since 2001 and will become Direct Mail Futurist and Chairman for the company, focusing on identifying new ways to grow the business using artificial intelligence and the companies world leading Xerox inkjet technology.

Rachel joined First Move 11 years ago after having an established career with Lloyds Bank, culminating in Group Risk at the company head office. This structure and process driven background has equipped Rachel with skills to make a real tangible difference across many areas within the business. She has never looked back on her move into direct marketing and her passion for direct mail is evident.

In her new role, Rachel will be based at First Move’s head office in High Wycombe.

Commenting on her appointment, Rachel Smith said: “I am excited to take on this new role and would like to thank David for his trust and support. First Move is at a very dynamic point in its history as we strengthen our proposition through customer and technology-led direct mail marketing solutions. I look forward to working with our partners and team, as we create the future of direct mail for our customers. David and I will continue to work very closely to ensure the companies vision is fulfilled from the ground up right to the very top.”

David Amor says, “I am proud to have led our fine team at First Move for the past 17 years and of the outstanding commercial and technology growth we have achieved over this time. We have grown by helping our customers to grow. I remain committed to the long-term success of First Move but in recent years have started to focus on a succession plan to build the next generation of leadership so that the company is always in highly capable hands and continues to thrive.

We are confident Rachel is the right person for the job with her specialist expertise in shaping strategic direction, transformation leadership, driving change, people development, and delivering significantly increased business performance. We are delighted to be giving Rachel this opportunity and expect great things to come under her leadership.

I will continue to work with First Move and develop our use of artificial intelligence in the analysis of data and its application in producing programmatic mail which is highly individual and relevant to the individuals being contacted. Our installation of a worlds first Xerox Trivor inkjet and its upgrade to High Fusion ink (another world first) gives First Move a fantastic platform upon which to build the future.”

https://www.firstmove.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/h1.png8584Vicky Whitehttps://www.firstmove.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/logo_trans_c.pngVicky White2018-02-05 17:08:242018-04-27 14:08:57Come and see us at MTEX - Direct Mail in the 21st Century

The propaganda from digital marketeers said direct mail was dead. Now they’re retreating with their tails between their legs begging to be let back in. After all, the already powerful direct mail can have even more impact when paired with digital. But how are the digital natives returning to direct mail and why?

The realisation isn’t surprising and we all predicted it; digital would become so big it was impossible to hear the message clearly. But now with technology it’s easier to refine the message and hit the recipient from multiple channels. Direct mail with digital marketing integration can be even more targeted, personalised to specific individuals and an interactive and offline hybrid.

Avoid the Opt-Out All Together
With digital direct mail you can remove yourself from a list easily, and as mobile phone technology evolves, without searching for the unsubscribe button. This is bad news to marketeers as once you’ve lost a contact’s subscription, you’ll have to have a miracle to regain their following. Direct mail is different. Sending something to someone’s house or business is easy, and provided that you’ve acquired their data legally, totally within the eyes of the law.

Consumers throw things in the bin without hesitation, but unless the content is particularly objectionable, they never bother to find out from where it has come or how to get rid of it. Without the worries of email sender reputation, spam filters or IP blocking, provided Royal Mail is doing its job, nothing will stop it from reaching its recipient.

Increased ROI
Just like email marketing direct mail measurement is a dream. By using metrics and KPIs you can understand the insight of campaigns at a glance. Direct mail shares the same measurements as its digital counterpart and it can even improve digital marketing results. Sure digital campaigns can have their impact, but they’re soon forgotten. A follow-up print mail alternative hangs around and can be the one things that converts to purchase. Rather than sending five emails isn’t one direct mail a better use of your time?

Programmatic Direct Mail Marketing
Even the display ad networks and resellers have found it tough of recent years and have had to evolve their strategies to combat ad blockers and decreasing impression rates. Digital advertising and remarketing has now turned to direct mail to convert customers to purchase. With sophisticated algorithms and the ability to track users’ browsing history, products can go from a wish list on the web to a DM flyer in their letterbox the following day. How could your customer possibly resist temptation when something they’ve coveted online comes directly to their hands?

Seamless Synchronisation
Digital marketing is seeing the benefits of direct mail and how it aligns with general marketing objectives. It’s easy to integrate the physical nature of DM with online CRM systems to conduct a more telling and sincere communication with customers and prospects. Nothing beats a birthday card in the post and only DM can convey the emotion to express true gratitude to key customers.

Direct Mail has evolved and with First Move recently installing the new Xerox Trivor, A world’s first, we are now at the forefront of digital printing technology.

We interview our very own Digital Print Manager, David Leitch for his insights into the Xerox Trivor printer and how printing technology is changing the face of Direct Mail in today’s digitally focused world.

1. Why should companies take notice of the Xerox Trivor, how does it improve upon the current world of Direct Mail? Speed and Cost. The Trivor is a new era in terms of printing, inkjet has primarily been used for lower quality projects and to reduce costs. Whilst this is important, the addition of quality and the ability to make each sheet of paper totally individual, dramatically increases the options open to users.

2. What impact does the Trivor have on personalisation? The Trivor opens up new avenues of variable data and imagery in one file for customers, enabling you to target specific interests that their customers have expressed an interest in. In the Trivor arena personalisation is not just a name and address but potentially completely individual items of mail. Images and text driven through data analysis of the understanding of your customers buying habits, their likes and dislikes, their location, their proximity to the nearest supplier. In short improved relevancy to the reader of what is of interest to them – every page is unique!

3. EFI RIP what’s that and what’s the benefit to customers? The EFI RIP is where all of the data is collected and processed ready for the Trivor to print. The need to process thousands of pixels (drops) of ink per second requires huge computing power. The rip installed at First Move is the largest ever created by EFI (Xerox’s computing partner) and was shipped from San Francisco direct to High Wycombe. The RIP is the 1st of its kind in the world, its power enables clients to produce multiple image and multi placement of personalisation campaigns specific to each person. The benefit of this power is that it processes the information faster than anything previous.

4. How can companies save money when using the Xerox Trivor? Being a single process for print and variable data/images, longer run campaigns are printed in one run, rather than previously, where you would ‘litho’ print and then personalise.

5. How fast can a customer get something mailed using the Trivor and how much faster than the current world is that? As previously mentioned, we have taken a two stage printing exercise and changed it to a one stage. But let’s not be fooled, there are machines out there that can do low volume jobs quickly, what Trivor changes is quality and quantity. Trivor produces 270,000 A4 letters printed in colour both sides in an 8 hour shift.

6. Why should companies interested in Direct Mail speak to First Move? Now, with 2 world 1st installs of the Xerox Trivor and the EFI rip PLUS our understanding of marketing and mailing services as demonstrated in our book Direct Mail 101 (this details the process required to deliver predictable profitable mail campaigns) our ability to assist our clients deliver improved results is unique. Our achievements in this area have been recently recognised by Xerox and we are proud to have been asked to become part of their worldwide ‘Premier Partners’ programme.

To find out more about the new Xerox Trivor Printer and to establish how Digital Direct Mail can transform your business please contact First Move today on 01494 539300 or fill in our online contact form.

We present you with our opening statement with evidence to support our client, ‘Direct Mail in the 21st century.’

It is our privilege to showcase direct mail in this case before you today.

You have heard the digital world explain what it hopes will be proven, but the digital world did not furnish you with all the facts.

The digital world has explained that our client was “identified” as an outmoded form of communication, but in fact this supposed allegation is from an entity that has held a grudge against our client for a long time, since 1989 to be accurate, and has made many inconsistent statements about this case.

The digital world has explained that our client was found to have an inability to sell products in a digital age, but none of those accusations actually stood up to any factual analysis and our client did have its own compelling responses to make.

In fact the response rates were substantially stronger with a longer sales tail than previously assuaged, as well as a shorter sales cycle. These direct responses could so easily have been in the possession of your business.

We put it to you, that Direct Mail has evolved and is thriving in the new environment of ‘just-in-time’ marketing, utilising augmented reality and big data, aiding marketeers to deliver highly personalised messages with tangible results from physical items.